Both sides agree GAO ruling is likely to disrupt tanker process

Opposing political camps in the battle over a $40 billion aerial refueling tanker contract voiced reactions ranging from applause to shock and disappointment Wednesday as the Government Accountability Office sided with Boeing Co. in a protest of the U.S. Air Force's award.

But both sides acknowledged that the decision, made public Wednesday, would likely mean substantial delays for the process to replace the Air Force's aging tanker fleet, something the service has called its top priority.

"It has a real strong potential of holding things up indefinitely," said Jim Specht, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-California, ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee. Specht said Lewis "is concerned that this throws the whole decision into turmoil."

GAO on Wednesday upheld the protest filed after the Air Force's February decision to award the tanker contract to Northrop Grumman Corp. and EADS North America.

The Northrop-EADS team would assemble the planes in a $600 million, 1,500-worker plant planned for Mobile's Brookley Field Industrial Complex. But the GAO recommended that the Air Force reopen the competition, a process that could take a year or longer.

The GAO's decision is not binding, but "it gives political ammunition to those who have been saying for some time that the Air Force really did not use a fair process," Specht said.

Boeing supporters wasted no time.

"The GAO criticisms were a scathing indictment of the Air Force's process," Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said in a written statement. "The Air Force will have no choice but to re-bid this project."

Boeing would do much of its assembly work in Cantwell's home state of Washington should it eventually win the award.

Supporters of Northrop emphasized that the GAO's decision reflected on the Air Force's contracting process and not the merits of the Northrop tanker.

Gov. Bob Riley said in a written statement that if the Air Force rebids the contract, it should do so quickly, a sentiment echoed by Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile.

"The Air Force desperately needs a new tanker to replace a fleet nearly 50 years old," Bonner said in a statement. "Like everyone else, I look forward to hearing from the GAO and meeting with the Air Force on how we move forward."

Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., a vocal critic of the Air Force decision whose district would benefit from a Boeing award, put his feelings about the GAO decision in black and white during a news conference.

Tiahrt held up a sign that read: VINDICATION!!!

Boeing's supporters have frequently criticized the award because Northrop partner EADS is the parent company of Boeing's only rival in the production of large commercial aircraft ? Toulouse, France-based Airbus.

"This decision is a step toward ensuring that local communities throughout America will not lose thousands of jobs over the period of the contract to competi tors in Europe," said Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee.

While it is a setback for Northrop, Wednesday's GAO decision is only the latest episode in a matter that will continue to be hotly debated, according to Specht.

"Every member of Congress and pretty much every congressional staffer who has anything to do with the subject has ... been bombarded for weeks now," Specht said. "I have a hunch that's probably going to increase."